Walking In A Taylor Wonderland

He has been called The Crafty Potter, The Governor, The Godfather and The Power. He has been described as a winning machine, a competitive animal and a genius. He is Philip Douglas Taylor.

It all kicked off in 1986 when Eric Bristow the 5 Time World Champion decided to sponsor Phil after seeing his raw talent and potential in the local pub. Fast forward just 2 years on and Taylor wins the 1988 Canadian Open defeating the current World Champion at the time Bob Anderson. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In August , Taylor defied the odds and won his 16th World Matchplay, vanquishing the worlds best players in Gerwyn Price, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright in the process. Taylor’s almost impossible task to claim victory was met by a vintage and imperious power surge that only a few dart players are capable of. He had rolled back the years and defiantly silenced the doubters.

Last night Phil Taylor competed in the final of his last World Darts Championship but was beaten by fellow Target player Rob Cross. The game was Phil Taylor’s last of his record-breaking career, with “The Power” now retiring from professional darts after 30 years in which he won more than 100 televised titles, including 16 world championship crowns.

When people talk about sports personalities that dominated their sport you hear about Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali and Lionel Messi. Phil Taylor is most definitely in that category and it could be argued that Taylor has been even more dominant than any of them and across a far longer period of time.

Some compare Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and now Rob Cross to Phil Taylor. The truth is that he is incomparable. When another dart player consistently wins time and time again across 3 decades, then maybe comparisons can be made. But not before. Sid Waddell often said that Taylor was the greatest there is and greatest there ever will be. With the 57 year old reaching the final of his last World Championships, we tend to agree.

THE two Women's Qualifiers for the William Hill World Darts Championship have been confirmed for Dusseldorf and Milton Keynes and will take place in November. Two places for female players will be on offer in the 2018/2019 World Championship at Alexandra...

Target's World Champion Rob Cross's debut Premier League season ended in a run to the semi-finals. "Voltage" had produced some stunning displays in his first attempt at the tournament, but he could not overcome world number one Michael van Gerwen at the O2...